WHEREAS Ontario currently has over 5000 licensed pits and quarries located throughout the province that are able to meet the expected near term needs of Ontario’s construction industry;
AND WHEREAS aggregate reuse and recycling is hampered by regulatory policies that result in redundant demand for new aggregate;
AND WHEREAS applications continue to be submitted without a definitive determination if there is a need for additional supply;
AND WHEREAS gravel pits and quarries are destructive of natural environments and habitats;
AND WHEREAS pits and quarries have negative social impacts on host communities and neighbouring properties in terms of noise, air pollution, and truck traffic;
AND WHEREAS the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change has brought awareness to the very high carbon footprint associated with the production of concrete and asphalt which are major end-users of aggregates;
AND WHEREAS removal of aggregates from land, and post extraction rehabilitation, significantly change its geological properties and thereby impact the value and potential of that land to produce food in the future;
AND WHEREAS there is an obligation to consult with First Nations peoples regarding the impacts of quarries on treaty lands and a responsibility to address those impacts;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ontario government be requested to impose an immediate temporary moratorium on all new gravel mining applications pending a broad consultation process including with First Nations, affected communities, independent experts and scientists to chart a new path forward for gravel mining in Ontario which:
- Proposes criteria and processes for determining the need for new gravel licences;
- Recommends updated policies and restrictions for gravel mining below the water table to reflect current groundwater sciences;
- Develops new guidelines to require reprocessing in order to create a closed loop aggregate life cycle and ensure sustainable aggregate supplies;
- Provide a requirement that any new or existing gravel operation be subject to a sunset clause limiting the length of time within which the site must be extracted and rehabilitated;
- Recommend a fair levy for gravel mining that includes compensation for the full environmental and infrastructure maintenance costs to the local community of extraction and distribution of aggregate;
- Provides greater weight to the input by local municipalities to lessen the social impacts from mining operation and trucking through their communities; and,
- Proposes revisions to application procedures which fully honour First Nations’ treaty rights;
AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this resolution be sent to the Honourable Doug Ford Premier of Ontario, the leaders of all Provincial Parties, Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, AMO, Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario (TAPMO), the Region of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener, the City of Cambridge, the City of Waterloo, the Township of Woolwich, the Township of Wellesley, the Township of North Dumfries, Mississaugas of the Credit, Six Nations of the Grand River, and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute.